As noted in one of our previous reviews, Ridge Road Estates Winery made out favourite wine, their Baco Noir. They were a fortunate discovery my parents made at the Hamilton Food and Drink show one year, and has continued to be a favourite of myself, M, my roommates, my colleagues, my parents, pretty much everyone. Their vibrant orange label and awesome sense of humour doesn't hurt, but it is their good wine that really helps. Chardonnay is one of the most popular wines in Ontario, it is kind of like the bread and butter of wines. Tonight's was once again barrel fermented, this time in French and American Oak. A, you may say, why do I care where the trees are from? Well, the answer is different wood, and even trees from different countries, make wines taste differently because their grain and pores are different. For example, French oak has smaller pores than its American friends ( I forget why, it has something to do with both climate and age of tree, but that's all I've got!). So if the pores are smaller, it takes longer for the wine to soak in and get that oakyness, so the oaking is more subtle, so in order to get the right flavour, you choose the right wood and maybe use two different ones for two different periods of time. I can't find the price on the 2010, but the 2009 was $16.95 and again has to be bought from the winery. I liked tonight's chardonnay better than last night. It was more typical, in that it takes on some of the characteristics you hear people talk about when they talk about oaked wine. I would say it is a safer bet for your chard-loving public. But what did my family think?
Sister - Smells stronger than the wine last night, like you really get a whiff of it. It is kind of sweet at first but has a strong alcohol taste. It also tasted like a really sweet fruit, but I can't think of which one.
Mom - This wine is one of my favourites. I think we bought nearly 6 bottles of it. It is a very traditional barrel-aged chardonnay. It tastes a bit like oak and a light melon. It has a very nice spiciness to it. It smells sweet fruity and oaky. It was definitely strong enough for our dinner tonight, which was roasted tomato risotto with chicken coated in yogurt, cilantro and cashews.
Dad - This wine had really good legs, it was full bodied and a very strong wine. This wine is probably not for sipping or for someone who doesn't like wine. It was slightly spicy, like cinnamon and nutmeg. I really liked it.
A - This wine has a very bright yellow colour. It smells like tropical fruits, like mango and pineapple. It is also very sweet smelling. The first sip seemed quite alcoholy. I will confess I made a bit of a face. But the second sip was very pleasant. It tastes like vanilla, rum, oak, and a touch of smokeyness. It was really spicy and warm, and tasted kind of like sunscreen smells (like coconut and sunshine). Overall, a very positive wine drinking experience! I would not reccomend this for people like my sister who claim to not like wine, or people who don't drink it sometimes.
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